1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a device and a method to input symbols to form characters and more particularly, to a Cross-shaped layout of strokes on an input device for forming Chinese characters accompanied by a lyric related to the locations of the strokes.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is a difficult task to input Chinese characters into a hand-held device, such as a mobile phone, due to the limited number of keys. There are three popular ways, namely, the Pinyin method which is mainly used in Mainland China; the Zhuyin method which is mainly used in Taiwan area; and the Stroke method which is common in most Chinese-speaking regions.
The stroke method requires the least number of keys and the fewest number of keystrokes. It is based on the structure of Chinese characters, which are composed from components of different stroke shapes. For simplicity, these strokes have been categorized into five groups. Each of the five stroke groups represents several different strokes used to form Chinese characters. There are more than twenty different strokes some of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,926, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The five groups are used in mobile phones for Chinese text entry via various software programs, such as the T9 Chinese Text Input technology of Tegic Communication Inc., (Tegic). Each group is represented by a key label an the mobile telephone. The five groups are placed on sequential keys, such as on keys 7, 8, 9, star and 0 of the telephone keypad. There are different methods for identifying and grouping Chinese strokes.
FIG. 1 shows the representative strokes for the five stroke groups arranged on the keypad 10. In particular, the number 7 key 20 is labeled Pie, which is a right to left downward slash, also referred to as a left-sloping stroke; the number 8 key 30 is labeled Shu, which is a vertical bar, also referred to as a vertical stroke; the number 9 key 40 is labeled Na and Dian, where Na is a left to right downward slash, also referred to as a right-sloping stroke, and Dian is a short form of Na; the star * key 50 is labeled Heng, which is a horizontal bar and referred to as a horizontal stroke; and the number zero key 60 is labeled Zhe, which is a combination of the horizontal bar Heng and the slash Pie, also referred to as a turning stroke. In addition, the number # key 70 is labeled with a question mark and is used as a wildcard in case of uncertainty in the proper order of one or more of the five strokes.
To compose a Chinese character, one has to learn the different stroke shapes, the stroke positions and the stroke ordering. The strokes have their relative positions in each Chinese character. The strokes also need to be written in a specific order so that the character can be constructed in a balanced shape. In general, Chinese characters are constructed from left to right and top to bottom.
Forming Chinese characters using more than twenty strokes is difficult and time consuming. This is aggravated by the need to search the keyboard to find the key labeled with the proper stroke. Writing in Chinese using a keyboard is facilitated using software programs that use the five stroke groups.
The Tegic software for a mobile phone, referred to as the T9 software, constructs Chinese characters in response to the five stroke groups. The T9 software displays the strokes entered by the user, and offers Chinese character choices on the display to the user for selection. As the user enters each stroke, the displayed Chinese characters change. The user may select the desired Chinese character as soon as it appears on the telephone display, without finishing the stroke sequence for the character,
Although such software greatly facilitates Chinese writing using five keys, the user has no easy way to memorize the mapping of keys with the five stroke groups. Chinese writing related factors have not been considered in the key stroke mapping and the strokes are arbitrarily assigned to the keys. This increases the difficulty of using input devices to construct Chinese characters.
Accordingly, there is a need to enhance Chinese character writing using input devices, to increase the effectiveness of the key-strokes mapping and to increase input efficiency. Further, there is a need to reduce the difficulty in memorizing the mapping of the keys to strokes.
The object of the present invention is to provide an input device and method that eliminate the problems of conventional input devices and methods of constructing Chinese characters.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an input device and method which enhance the stroke method of writing Chinese characters using software.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an input device and method with a natural mapping of keys to strokes which facilitate the memorization of the mapping of keys and strokes.
The present invention accomplishes the above and other objects by providing a device and method to input characters comprising keys associated with labels or strokes which andre arranged in a Cross-shaped configuration. The relative positions of the strokes on the Cross-shaped configuration are associated with the relative position of the strokes in Chinese characters. Further, the relative positions of the strokes on the Cross-shaped configuration are associated with the shapes of the strokes. Illustratively, the labels are associated with the keys using printed, audio and/or visual means.
In one embodiment, the Cross-shaped layout arrangement is accompanied with a lyric which helps users remember and memorize the locations of the five strokes. The relative locations of the five strokes are: Pie at the left of the cross, Dian at the right, Heng at the top, Zhe at the bottom, and Shu at the center. The lyric describes the shapes of the strokes and the relative position of the strokes in the cross. For example, the lyric may be xe2x80x9cleft slash, right gash, upper over, lower turn with one down in the middle.xe2x80x9d The lyric may have a tune to become a song.
The Cross-shaped layout is easily learned and memorized, particularly with the aid of the accompanying lyric. The Cross-shaped layout takes advantage of the users"" intrinsic knowledge of the rules of writing Chinese characters. The relative positions among the strokes themselves mirror their relative position within Chinese characters and the Cross-shape layout of the keys optimizes the usability thereof.